The Top Ten 5.23.06: Finishers
Posted by Julian Williams on 05.23.2006
FINISH HIM!!!!!!!
Greeting guys and dolls, welcome to another fantabulous edition of The Top Ten. This week the topic is the top finishers of all time and this was the hardest list for me to do yet. I thought last week was a hard list, but this one was twice as bad as I came up with honestly about 70 finishers that I wanted to put on the list. Narrowing it down was painstaking, but I'm glad to do it for you guys. Who loves ya baby? Coming up with a solid 10 was impossible so as a result this will be a SUPER DUPER MEGA-SIZED edition with honorable mentions galore as well as a few that barely missed the list. I got a ton of great email from you guys about last week's column so let's take a peek at some of your thoughts.
Reader Feedback
First, Steffan hits me up all the way from the UK. I got that international love homie:
Hey,
I love your column, and before i start ranting, i do find it really interesting! But there are a few bumps i think deserved some more love, even though i realise how difficult this list is as there are so many to consider! One is Shane O' Mac in Backlash 2001, flying some 50 feet with an elbow drop, off the titan tron onto the Big Show. That spot was nuts and i'm still in awe watching that, especially in slo-mo when you can see huge chunks of wood flying up and nearly smacking Test in the face. Also i think AJ deserves some love for his Final Resolution 2005 bump in the Ultimate X match. He was freakin turned inside out, and it was just an amazing visual. Both these bumps I'd put before the Slamboree 2000 bump, as that was so obviously cushioned, and with the fact it was off the first cage which was normal cage height, and the raised ramp and all, it wasn't too high. Serious, it was like he landed on crashmats. Also, although they're recent and fresh in the memory, but Lockdown 2006 featured 3 holy shit moments. 1. Chase Stevens shooting star press off the cage. Now as much as I love Kurt's moonsault, this was even more impressive as it's a more difficult move and it was a horrible landing! 2. Abyss taking an unprettier, face first onto tacks, that was just plain brutal. And 3. AJ's splash from the rafters down onto the table on top of the cage. Even though this one wasn't quite top 10 material, it was easily more impressive once again than the Kanyon bump (along with the other two Lockdown 2006 moments which were also better). But apart from a few glaring omissions, the top 10 is pretty solid as all of those bumps were amazing. Also, good call on the Hardy monster's ball bump, as people overlook that one because it's not a Hardy 2000-20001 bump, even though it's far more impressive, especially the fact that there was nothing but a little wood and concrete to break his fall from that incredible height! Anyway, thanks again for a great column and looking forward to your next entry. Keep up the good work!
Steffan Jones (Wales, U.K.)
Steffan includes some great picks here including the amazing bump AJ Styles took in that Ultimate X match. How he didn't break his freaking back taking that bump is a miracle in my eyes. It was good to see someone support me about Hardy's swanton at Bound For Glory '05 because I think that spot easily overshadows anything else he's ever done because it was so insanely dangerous. If he was off by an inch or two, he could have paralyzed himself. Although I'm sure that's what a lot of you Hardy haters would have loved to see. Sickos.
Dan questions the mental stability of our Olympic hero:
"4) Shane gets up close and personal with a wall of glass(King Of The
Ring
2001)"
Don't forget that after that spot, Angle tried to suplex Shane through
another
piece of glass, but after 2 or 3 unsuccessful attempts (with Shane
brutally
landing on his head each time), Kurt just grabs him by the hair and
throws him
face first through it. What a crazy fucking bastard.
Indeed Dan, if there were three words to perfectly sum up Kurt Angle it would be crazy fucking bastard. Or Olympic Gold Medalist. Naw, crazy fucking bastard is perfect.
Doug talks about how the magic of a great spot can score you chicks. Why do you think all these wrestlers try this crazy shit? It's not for you, it's all about the chicks bro:
In regards to Brock superplexing the Big Show, I was in the arena that night. It was amazing. I had two friends with me that night, and these two girls are about as far away from being wrestling fans as you can be, I don't know how I got them to go that night. But after that spot even they were jumping up and down going nuts over the whole thing. Pretty much proving in my mind that anyone can get into a wrestling match.
A great spot or a great match can draw even the most cynical person into the dark, seedy world of wrestling. I remember showing an ex-girlfriend of mine the Hell In A Cell match between HBK and Taker and she was instantly hooked and still watches it to this day. Even my cousin who acts like wrestling is the Anti-Christ sat down and cheered during the match between Rock and Hogan at WM18. A lot of people want to be wrestling fans, but they don't want to be made fun of for liking it. Luckily, nerds like me and you don't care about such trivial things like popularity. And friends. And sex.
Curtis spits on my list. No literally, he came to my house and spit on my computer screen. It needed a good cleaning anyway:
I have to say, I really don't agree with a lot of the spots on the
list,
especially the Mick Foley/HIAC ones, I always thought the Kanyon one
was WAY
better, mainly because Mick went through a table. Also things like
Angle's
missed moonsault and the ladder match spear while cool, are not nearly
as
good as some of the other things that have happened, like Brian Lee vs
Tommy
Dreamer in that high scaffold match, Little Spike taking out rows of
bleachers with his body, AJ diving from the lights and the Abyss Barbed
Wire
Sandwich.
Also, Shelton running up the ladder was nothing spectaculer, I've seen
Paul
London do it like 4 years ago, he ran up the ladder in the corner and
did a
fiip dive onto Micheal Shane, I loved that, when I saw Shelton do it
into a
clotheslines I was highly unimpressed.
Also, Shane should never be called the king of big time spots, because
Shane
comes in, does a huge spot, the takes a year or 2 off to heal, everyone
else
has to work still.
I gotta disagree with Curtis on this one as I think Mick's HIAC bumps were WAYYYY more dangerous than Kanyon's fall because the ramp Kanyon was thrown on was doctored to support his fall. There was no doctoring done to the announce table or the ring that Mick fell on, it was straight up. The bumps Curtis mentions were all great and could have easily been on the list, but I believe the ones I listed were just a little more memorable. But that's just my opinion because I'm sure there are a lot of people that would agree with Curtis' point of view. That Shelton spot at WM21 was still unbelievable, I don't care what anyone says not even my own mama. Well maybe my mama, she might beat me.
Shining The Spotlight's own Michael Weyer mentions a spot he thinks I should have included and then calls me a silly wench behind the scenes. Ok, not really, I just love saying wench:
Hey, nice one with that top 10. I know, you have many asking "how could
you
leave this out?!" but one glaring omission to me was something I
actually
called one of the 5 best bumps in history in my inagural column: AJ
Styles
in the Ultimate X match at Final Resolution 05 where he's hanging from
the
ropes, gets dropkicked by Chris Sabin and seems to hang in mid-air,
flipping
around before landing HARD on the mat. I know, the cage shot was cool
but
this is THE AJ bump and should have been recognized. Still, good list,
can't
wait for more!
Michael Weyer
A lot of people mentioned this spot and for good reason. I honestly forgot all about it or else it would have picked up a spot on the list. Damn memory is failing me. Maybe I should start smoking weed again, that always helped.
Justin gives some picks and a little bit of indy love:
Great list, it's ashame it's only a top ten because there are so many potential spots that could be included. I agree that most of the spots and bumps you mentioned should be there, especially Shane at KOTR (it was amazing he wasn't paralyzed),but I have some to add to the list.
1. Mick Foley (as Mankind at the time) doing the Snuka Superfly off of the blue cage onto Hunter Hearst Helmsley at Summerslam. I was there for that one live and although I was only about 9, it is an image that will stick with me for the rest of my life as a true "holy s***" moment.
2. Shane McMahon falling off of the Titantron either time. Those were some of the absolute sickest spots I've ever seen and what makes them even more impressive is the fact that they were performed by Shane McMahon.
3. This is an Indy one to add to the list. At the Ring of Honor show on March 30, 2006 (Dragon Gate Challenge), BJ Whitmer was taking on Jimmy Jacobs and was attempting to powerbomb him off the top rope when one of Whitmer's feet slipped off the rope and he ended up slamming Jimmy headfirst off of both the top rope and apron before he was finally slammed to the ground. Even though it wasn't supposed to happen it was one of the most frightening and sickening bumps I've ever seen in my entire life.
Keep up the great work,
Justin
Very good picks here by Justin and a bunch of people mentioned the Indy spot with BJ and Jimmy Jacobs. I've never seen it but it sounds sick so if anyone knows where I can find it, hit a brother up!!
Raymond mentions a spot he thinks should be on the list and provides a video to back up:
I don't know if you are basing the bumps from just strictly WWE and TNA but this one stands out outside both feds.
CZW Tournament of Death II - John Zandig and Nick Mondo crashes through three tables filled with flourescent light bulbs..... FROM TOP OF A ROOF!
Watch this and this will be around top 3. Mondo still beat Zandig and went on to win ToD2 beating Ian Rotten despite numerous injuries suffered during the match. The bump is the reason Mondo quit the business.
After watching this spot all I could say was JESUS FREAKING CHRIST!!! A very sick spot indeed and if I saw this before I made the list, it would have most likely found a spot on it.
Dave provides a comprehensive list full of great picks which shows that I have more than enough suitable replacements to fill in for me when I take my week's vacation to watch Maury, watch porn, watch wrestling and beat off. Maybe in that order:
Here is my list of the top ten most insane bumps/stops that I have ever seen:
10: 500 pound Superplex
Urmmmm WOW! was the only word that came to my mind that did not involve swearing when I saw this move. That was a true amazing visual to see and I will never forget this one. Also something that made this so memorable was the fact that the crowd actually broke out in a audible and loud "Holy S***" chant. Never had heard that chant so loud in the WWE, also hearing a commentator say that as well was something memorable.
9: German Delight
Smackdown 2001. Austin Vs Benoit for the WWF Title. Benoit's home town. Benoit obviously felt he needed to leave a memorable mark on his town in the match and he did just that. Count it with me...1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10! 10 German Suplexes to Austin IN A ROW! Astounding move to see preformed seeing as a few months later Benoit had neck surgery. These suplexes obviously did not help but still WOAH!
8: Tangled in victory
Sick sick SICK describes this next spot. Sabu was facing Terry Funk in a Barbed Wire No Ropes Match for the ECW Title. Sabu had tried everything to win the match but nothing had worked. So what does he do? Why he wraps his legs in barbed wire and delivers a Leg Drop off the apron onto Terry Funk, who was on the floor himself wrapped in barbed wire. Sure it got him the win but the fact that officials had to literally cut both Funk and Sabu from the wire shows how sick it truly was.
7: Suicide Stevens Press
Suicide is the only word that comes to mind after watching this move. How Chase Stevens did not break his neck on this move is simply amazing. From the top of the cage, he somehow manages to keep his balance, what 15 feet in the air, and deliver a SHOOTING STAR PRESS to the people below. And guess what? NO ONE CAUGHT HIM! Straight through the middle into the mat. HOLY S*** indeed.
6: Jeff Hardy...hanging from a ....
Why yes it is Wrestlemania 17. The TLC Match. Good old Jeffy boy decided to hang out (literally) 15 feet above the ring. In yet another "HOLY S***" moment, Edge flew off another 15 foot ladder and delivered a MID AIR SPEAR, TAKING JEFFYKINS ALL THE WAY TO HELL. OUCH!
5: Inside out ... Upside down ... 15 feet above the ring
Simply phenomenal (pun intended). Ultimate X and our good friend AJ Styles is hanging from the wires. A dropkick later, and AJ is LITERALLY TURNED INSIDE OUT AND UPSIDE DOWN AND SPLAT! STRAIGHT ONTO THE MAT! I definitely shouted "HOLY S***" at the computer screen and still do every time I re watch it.
4: A forgotten moment
I can guarantee that 95% of fans out there will not understand or have seen this bump. It came at IYH: Revenge of the Taker. Mankind Vs The Undertaker. Mankind was getting up on the apron when Taker ran at him and knocked him off the apron and into the announce table. Now Mankind did not just go into the table normally, no. HE LITERALLY WENT HEAD FIRST INTO THE TABLE. And no he did not go through it to the ground. HE WAS STUCK, LITERALLY HEAD FIRST IN THE TABLE. And these were the days of wooden tables. Absolutely sick bump and Foley truly is God.
3: Ropewalking goes Primetime
Oh yes I could not forget about this one. I stood up and held my cushion when I saw Skipper get to the top of the cage. I screamed "You crazy bastard" at the screen when I realised what he was going to do. I threw my cushion out of the door and smacked the screen when he actually did it. Seeing someone ropewalk along the EXTREMELY THIN CAGE and connect with a beautiful picture-perfect rana was just WOW. WOW.
2: Shane...meet Kurt. Shane...meet glass. Shane...meet the hospital
I still cringe everytime I go back and watch this series of bumps. Shane gets suplexed against the glass and the glass DOES NOT GIVE and poor old Shane lands on his head...on concrete. Shane gets suplexed once again against the glass, which does break but leads to Shane getting showered in thousands of fragments of glass. Shane gets picked up again and suplexed AGAIN against another glass panel, which DOES NOT BREAK and Shane lands again on his head on the concrete. Take 2 Shane: same result. Angle, getting frustrated, chooses the next best option. HE DECIDES TO TOSS SHANE FACE FIRST THROUGH THE GLASS PANEL! I was cringing whilst typing this. SICK!
1: KOTR 1998 - Foley is God
"OH MY GOD...THEY'VE KILLED HIM"
"WITH GOD AS MY WITNESS, HE HAS BEEN BROKEN IN HALF"
"WOULD SOMEBODY PLEASE STOP THE DAMM MATCH...ENOUGH IS ENOUGH"
These three phrases pretty much sum up mine, and the millions of people's who watched this moment, feelings. There were so many moments in this match that were insane, I had to put it all together:
1: Foley getting TOSSED literally off a 20 foot cage threw a announce table
2: Foley getting SLAMMED threw a 20 foot cage to the mat below, hitting a chair in mid air.
3: Foley getting DROPPED back first on hundreds of thumbtacks
4: Foley getting CHOKESLAMMED on hundreds of thumbtacks
These four moments = HOLY S***
Foley is God
Peace
A great, great list here by Dave which included the oft-forgotten Foley bump which I loved, mainly just for seeing the Spanish announcer fall back in his chair with a look of horror on his face. Spanish announcers in peril = funny.
Rick sets me straight by showing some love to the indy boys:
Julian,
I like your most recent top ten list, but there's one problem I see with it...
Most of those spots are tame in comparison to what goes on in the indy scene.
The Foley spots - hell yeah those belong on there, as well as Angle's missed moonsault, and the Edge mid-air spear. Ditto for Primetime's rana and Shane O Mac getting up close and personal with glass.
I have yet to see WM 22 as I type this, so I can't comment on the Edge/Foley flaming table spear, but I can't think that's a true HOLY MOTHERFUCKING SHIT!!!!!! moment.
And I certainly won't put Snuka on the list. While that spot was innovative for the insane shit that has happened throughout the past 20+ years, there are so many other spots that are worth mentioning.
As for Jeff Hardy's spot last October... please. That probably wouldn't even make his own top ten.
Hell, before I even get to the indies, I'm gonna include WWE and TNA stuff that you failed to mention:
- TNA Final Resolution 2005: Sabin dropkicks AJ, and AJ flips over, landing on his back and coming very close to paralyzing himself. I don't think this spot will ever happen again, and it was just something that happened. It's not something that can be planned. It's a magical moment that thankfully didn't have a tragic result.
- Raw 6/11/01 - Benoit's diving headbutt off the cage. Seriously, has anyone in the history of the business hit a diving headbutt with more force, explosiveness, and intensity that Benoit? The answer is no. Put him on top of the cage to hit a diving headbutt, and the effect is devastating. Just insane from both perspectives, and certainly this did not help Benoit's neck problems.
- WM 2000 - Jeff Hardy climbs the ladder and hits a swanton onto Bubba through a table. Name me a more memorable spot from Jeff Hardy please.
- WM 2000 - E&C throw Matt Hardy off of the platforms sitting on the ladders, and Matt crumbles through two or three tables.
- SummerSlam 2000 - the first TLC - Bubba gets put through about two or three tables, along with Matt I believe (haven't watched the match in a while, so please cut me some slack.)
- WM 17 - see above, very similar. Also, Jeff does another insane swanton a la WM 2000.
- Raw 5/27/2002 - Eddie gives RVD a sunset powerbomb off of a fucking ladder. Also in this match, Eddie hits a 220+ pound swanton right onto RVD's chest off of the ladder, which would be felt over the next several months.
- Need I even go through all of the stuff from ECW, such as Dreamer throwing Brian Lee off of a scaffold through about 10 tables. How about some of New Jack's shit? Hell, he does even more dangerous shit outside of ECW. Check out the documentary Forever Hardcore if you haven't, as it includes New Jack apparently attempting to commit an actual homicide during a scaffold match. Way more dangerous than what Foley ever went through during his WWE tenure.
- ECW spring 1999 - can't remember which match it was, but one spot in particular that stands out in my mind from the RVD vs. Jerry Lynn series would have to be when RVD hit a sunset powerbomb on Lynn off of the ring apron, slamming Lynn onto a table, which Lynn of course broke as he landed on the floor.
- WCW Halloween Havoc 1997 - While this spot was not really as dangerous as the others listed and discussed, who will EVER forget Rey Mysterio hitting a picture-perfect springboard hurracanrana into a DDT on Eddie Guerrero? They would never be able to successfully duplicate that spot again over the next eight years.
- WCW Spring Stampede 1999 - In one of the greatest PPV openers in the industry's history, the match came to an end when Juventud Guerrera fucking DRILLED a Juvi Driver on Blitzkreig, and it looked like Blitzkreig had been fucking crippled for life.
Now onto the indies:
I have not seen much CZW, so only one spot in particular will be included on this list.
- CZW Cage of Death V - 12/2003 - You have to see the ending to the Joker vs. Chris Cash match. I can't find the DVD right now, but from what I can remember, I think that Joker hit a modified Juvi Driver or Island Driver or something of that nature on Cash... from the top of a ladder... and they landed on a table inside the ring. INSANE SHIT. RIP Chris Cash, you are missed.
Onto ROH:
- Do or Die (5/31/2003) - You need to check this show's main event out, as it looked like Samoa Joe fucking KILLED Homicide when he hit the top rope musclebuster. Greatest musclebuster I've ever seen out of Joe, and one of the best matches of 2003.
- Main Event Spectalces (11/1/2003) - If you want HOLY MOTHERFUCKING SHIT!!!! spots, get this DVD just for the Scramble Cage match. Highlights include insane shit from the SAT, Jack Evans, and Teddy Hart. Must be seen to be believed.
- Third Anniversary Celebration Pt. 1 (2/19/2005) - While I have not seen this show, I have seen the ending to the Scramble Cage match in a highlights package, must be seen to be believed, as one of the members of the Carnage Crew does this to a poor soul. He is on top of the cage, hits a PILEDRIVER off of it, and they land through a table inside of the ring.
That's all I've got for now.
Great list by Rick here, I've seen most of these spots and all the ones I've seen were sick as hell especially Joe's musclebuster on Homicide and WM17 when Bubba and Matt went through that stack of tables. I will disagree with Rick, though, as I still believe the Bound For Glory swanton that Jeff did is his greatest ever. Disagree with me? Watch it and then tell me differently.
Will G. calls me out on my lack of love for the indys and puro:
OK it's well written and I like your stuff dude, but where is that big
fat "In WWE and TNA" caveat? I mean to have a column claiming it's the
top ten extreme spots and not have any IWA-J, ECW, FMW or little
hardcore indy feds, it's not much of a top ten. Well i'd be a screaming
hypocrite if I didn't back up with some examples, so here's a few
choices of mine.
Bulldozer Brian Lee goes through the world's biggest stack of tables.
This is from Lee vs Dreamer at Big Ass Extreme Bash, in a stacked table
scaffold match. Theoretically safer than just bumping off the scaffold,
it looked amazing nonetheless.
The cage explodes. One of Atsushi Onita's many retirement matches was a
20,000 volt exploding barbed wire timebomb cage match against Hayabusa
in FMW. And the thing about timebomb matches is that when that counter
runs out, everything goes boom. And everything went boom, big style,
covering the audience in dust, the wrestlers and the ref in debris and
near blinding the first four rows. All round family fun.
Kanemura meets fire. OK I've only seen this in clip form, so I don't
quite know the context of the match, all I know is Mr Gannosuke (I
think) poured a shedload of alcohol on the FMW mat and set the canvas
on
fire, then powerbombed Kintaro Kanemura into it. And it looked mightily
impressive.
Kanemura hits the spidernet trap. The rules of a Spidernet Trap match
are simple. Somewhere on the floor there's a big mess of barbed wire,
broken glass, thumbtacks and other sharp pointy things. the first
wrestler to go into them is in deep, deep trouble. So when you've got
two hardcore icons like Kintaro Kanemura and Cactus jack fighting to
see
who ends up in it, something's going to go badly wrong for somebody. In
this case it's the Japanese guy with the flames on his wrestling gear
that ends up being thrown into the sharp stuff. Just plain ouch.
Honourable mentions - Masato Tanaka gets revenge on Awesome by running
Awesome Bombing him over the ropes through a table and nearly breaking
his neck in the process. Rhino hits the apron dive Piledriver through a
table... on Lori Fullington. John Zandig vs Shadow WX in a Barbed Wire
Table, Glass Light Tube Table, Lemons, Mustard and Salt Deathmatch. And
take your pick from the big spots at any CZW Cage of Death show,
they've
all got insane stuff on.
Will Geddes
Nottingham
All this stuff sounds like sick shit and they are all officially on my list of shit to see. I really got to get caught up on Japanese hardcore wrestling because those bastards are crazy.
Finally, The Wolf provides his picks. I want a cool nickname. Jules doesn't exactly strike fear in the hearts of men:
I loved reading about those bumps,and i want you to know that I set up this list BEFORE i read yours . When I saw the headline, I wrote out my list and THEN read yours, then I wrote this lovely e-mail that you see now! So here is my list!
1) Foley vs Undertaker HITC- Foley off the top of the cell both the one through the announce table that gets replayed constantly, and the one that is less known, where Foley is chokeslamed through the top of the cell and hit in the head with the chair would be devastating enough taken separately, but the fact that they were not only in the same match, but done to the same person is just incredible!
2) XXX vs The Naturals 6 sides of steel- Primetime should be a star just because of this, and the fact that he is a "Diamond IN The Rough" just staggers the imagination. Seeing him have the agility to tightrope walk the top of the cage and THEN execute a near perfect hurricanrana off of the top of the cage is pure MAGIC! "Please Don't Die" is right!
3) Sabu Monday Night Raw during the original ECW invasion- I was just getting into ECW when this angle started up, and seeing Sabu on my tv screen on a Monday night floored me. Seeing him dive off of the giant "R" did me in, and I've been a Sabu mark ever since!
4) Edge Vs Foley Flaming Table- For all the reasons you mentioned and more. This spot made me change my feelings on Egde. I didn't like most of his matches since he and Christian spilt up. I thought he was kinda bland without Christian, and that his moveset was (and kinda still is) limited. The whole Matt Hardy/Lita thing helped me hate him, but now I can finally see that looking back, Adam Copeland is pretty crazy for the bumps that he has taken.
5) The Debut of the Vanterminator- Not just anyone can name a move, talk about it on tv for weeks, and have everyone watching interested in seeing it done, without even describing it, but RVD did just that with the Vanterminator. Is it a super technical move? Hardly, but seeing Van Dam climb the turnbuckle and jump across the entire ring and nailing it perfectly was just classic. Seeing Shane O Mac steal it soon after proves just how inventive the spot was, and that even the WWE knew it needed to be seen.
6) Kevin Nash Using Rey Mysterio Jr. As A Lawn Dart. Totally sick and proved that the NWO meant business!
7)Bam Bam Bigelllo Throwing Little Spike Dudley into the ECW crowd. Not only did he get thrown into the crowd, but he got thrown into the crowd FROM THE RING!
8) Jeff Hardy's Swanton off of the top of the Impact Zone. Damn that guy must hate life. He tries to end it in just about every match he's in!
9) Kanyon gets thrown off of the top of the triple cage- yes the ramp was gimmicked, the biggest what the f*ck! part about it was that it happened in the same building that Owen Hart died in not too long beforehand.
10. AJ Styles gets almost decapitated.-God Bless AJ for taking this spot because he had nowhere to go to even brace himself from the impact (no pun intended) of that steel cage door. Totally sick!
Honorable mention- Brock Lesnar vs Kurt Angle- Brock showed why he should NEVER be allowed to hang out on the top rope when he botched a shooting star press and damn near killed himself as well as Angle.
so there's my list. it's like you said though, seeing people's different lists is fun, because you get the different personalities and what people like.
The Outcast Legend The Wolf
The Wolfman is on point with his picks here, even though that Sabu one was kind of an accident. It was still awesome, though, as only Sabu can completely fuck up a spot but still somehow make it look cool.
So that's it this week for emails. Thanks to all you guys that wrote me and please keep it coming as I'm always interested in what you guys think.
Top 10 Reasons to order Judgment Day
So Judgment Day was on Sunday night and was actually a pretty decent PPV and exceeded my expectations of it. Some of you might be skeptical, though, but never fear good friends. I'm here to give you the top 10 reasons you should earned your hard earned buck on the replay.
10) Indy heroes Paul London and Brian Kendrick actually win a match…..On a PPV…..FOR A TITLE!! Support them you bastards.
9) MNM implode!! Does that mean no more Melina entrance? If so, Julian is a very unhappy boy.
8) Finlay and Benoit go OLD SCHOOL for over 20 minutes and the results are awesome.
7) Melina's PRIMAL SCREAM. If that doesn't make you cream in your pants, you aren't a man. You're nothing more than a lady boy.
6) Melina bitch smacks Teddy Long. She gets fired for it, but I loves me an aggressive woman.
5) Kurt Angle actually pulls a decent match out of Mark Henry and does what many wrestling fans have been wanting to do for years by absolutely DESTROYING him with a steel chair.
4) ALL HAIL KING BOOKER!!
3) Even after a spear, King Booker still had to wear his crown dammit!!
2) The Undertaker actually loses a match cleanly. Unfortunately it's against The Great Khali whose future in wrestling is about as bright as mine.
1) Rey wins a match. Yes, you read that right, The World Champion actually won a match. Who'd a thunk it.
The Top Ten Finishers
First, here's a look at some picks that barely missed the list:
- Rikishi Driver (A sick sitdown piledriver that was used by Rikishi)
- C-4 (Awesome flipping backwards STO used by Paul Burchill)
- London Calling (The best Shooting Star Press I've ever seen used by Paul London)
- Evenflow DDT (Sweet Looking DDT used by Raven, it was better in his ECW days)
- PerfectPlex (A childhood favorite of mine which was a Fisherman Suplex used by Mr. Perfect)
Now let's get down to the meat and potatoes:
Honorable Mention: F5 (used by Brock Lesnar)
When I first saw Brock Lesnar debut by breaking up a hardcore match and destroying everyone in it, I was impressed by what a physical specimen the man was but what really caught my attention is when he delivered the F5 for the first time. What made it so cool is that he did it so effortlessly and would just pop right back up. The fact that he could do the move on anyone whether it be a cruiserweight or a 500 pound beats like the Big Show made it even more impressive.
Honorable Mention: 720 DDT (used by Jody Fleisch)
This is an absolutely amazing move that you have to see to believe. If you've never seen it, just picture Jody springing off the top rope, doing a 720 flip and then delivering a picture perfect swinging DDT on his opponent. It looks even sweeter than it sounds.
Honorable Mention: Crippler Crossface (used by Chris Benoit)
The beauty of the Crossface is how fast Benoit can lock it on his opponent. One second they'd be in total control of the match and the next second they'd be tapping out after Benoit latched the Crossface on them. He can catch people in the Crossface from the left or the right, the back or the front, standing or laying and that's what makes it so dangerous. Once the Wolverine locks his hands around his opponent's face, a tap-out is inevitable.
Honorable Mention: Musclebuster (used by Samoa Joe)
This is a hate it or love it move as some people don't think too much of it while other people love it. I personally love it because when Joe hits it with full force, it looks absolutely brutal. There's been more than one time where I've seen Joe hit that move and worried about the well being of his opponent. That's the tell tale sign of a good finisher.
Honorable Mention: Ki Krusher ‘99 (used by Low-Ki)
My first glimpse at Low Ki was during an early TNA match between him and The Amazing Red. It was a great match with tons of cool spots, but the one I kept rewinding over and over again was when Low Ki hit the Ki Krusher to end the match. It just looked fucking brutal and I knew there was no way Red was kicking out of that. I had heard about the move for a couple months before actually seeing it and it definitely didn't disappoint. Just an awesome finisher.
10) Tombstone Piledriver (used by The Undertaker)
Sure, there are sicker versions of the piledriver out there like Jerry Lynn's Cradle Piledriver, Justin Credible's That's Incredible, Kid Kash's Money Maker(Tiger Driver '98), and Kevin Steen's Package Piledriver. The Tombstone is the original move to make people cringe, though. Back in the day when Taker first used the move, the original piledriver that was in use was a slow, deliberate move to ensure the safety of the wrestler it was being performed on. The Tombstone was a quick piledriver where Taker would have his opponent up one second and then drop to his knees to put them on their head the next. The pin that he did after executing the move made it even cooler as it seemed like he was laying the person to rest. A classic move that still looks deadly when delivered today.
9) Widow's Peak (used by Victoria)
This move is unbelievably vicious and what makes it even more wicked is that it is a woman delivering it on other women. It fits with Victoria's character so well because only a completely psycho bitch would use a finisher that's so brutal. It looks like she snaps their neck and then just lets them fall to the mat as if to say, "You're done bitch." I love this finisher and it's one of the reasons why Victoria is one of my favorite female wrestlers of all time.
8) Vertebreaker/Cop Killa (used by Shane Helms/Homicide)
When Sugar Shane used this move in WCW, it was the most innovative and sickest looking finisher at the time. It was so sick, in fact, that when Shane went to WWE and become Gregory, the E made him stop using it as it was viewed as too dangerous of a move. Soon after the former Hurricane stopped using it, Homicide started using it on the indy scene and he delivered it in an even more brutal fashion than Helms was doing it. Every time I see this move performed, I cringe because it looks like nobody should be able to walk after receiving.
7) Frog Splash/5 Star Frog Splash (used by Art Barr/Rob Van Dam)
Ok so I'm cheating a little on this because it's two different types of frog splashes, but I couldn't decide between them. Art Barr's frog splash was the prettiest I've ever seen as he would cock his arms under his feet while soaring in the air and then deliver it perfectly on the opponent. Nobody can fly farther or jump higher than RVD when he performs his 5-star version of the frog splash. When RVD gets full extension and height on his frog splash, there's nothing better. Both versions of the frog splash are awesome and a thing of beauty to watch.
6) Stone Cold Stunner (used by Steve Austin)
The greatest thing about the Stunner is the speed in which Austin could hit his opponents with it. Most finishers require a set-up so the fans can see the move coming a mile away, but with the stunner it was KICK WHAM STUNNER(check made payable to Scott Keith) and the match was over. It's easily the most recognizable finisher probably in the entire history of wrestling as people who aren't even wrestling fans would be able to recognize it. Stone Cold delivered it so many times in so many memorable segments and matches that it would be impossible to list. No matter who else ever uses it, the move will always be associated with Austin because he performed it so seamlessly and perfectly.
5) Figure Four Leglock (used by Ric Flair)
Now!!!!!!!!! When you heard that, you knew Flair was going for his patented move and you knew his opponent was in trouble. The great thing about the figure four is the struggle which would ensue once it was latched on. With a lot of submission finishers, once it's latched on, it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that the opponent is going to tap. In the case of the figure four, it would draw the crowd in because they wouldn't know whether Flair's opponent would tap or be able to fight out of it. The move has been used by various different wrestlers, but Flair will always be the wrestler associated with it because he added tension and excitement to a match every time he hooked it on.
4) Canadian Destroyer (used by Petey Williams)
The first time I saw this finisher, it made me get out of my seat and go HOLY FUCKING SHIT!! That was the first time that a finisher got me to react like that. I've seen a lot of sick finishers, but the Canadian Destroyer is the only one to ever get to me to react like that when initially seeing it. Every time Petey performs it, it looks like he just absolutely KILLS his opponent. One of the sickest finishers I've ever seen and one of the few finishers that I always look forward to seeing again.
3) Sharpshooter (used by Bret Hart/Owen Hart)
Best Submission Move. EVER!! Period. Well maybe not period, let me explain a little. It's not the most brutal looking submission move, but don't tell me that when you were younger and first saw this move, that you didn't try to latch it on to one of your friends. It's just an awesome looking submission move that makes you want to scream, "TAP OUT DAMMIT!!!" every time you see it hooked on to somebody. Bret always did a great job of building up psychology before performing the move by always trying to destroy his opponents leg before locking it on. The only person to ever perform it as beautifully as Bret is his brother Owen and some might argue that Owen's version was just a wee bit better. Nevertheless, this was just a fantastic finishing move that would always bring the crowd to its feet every time somebody was put in it.
2) Superfly (used by Jimmy Snuka)
Yes I know that there are a million better top rope moves and yes I know this is just a simplistic splash, but without this move you wouldn't have half the crazy shit you see nowadays. At the time when Snuka started doing the Superfly, nobody had ever seen someone come of the top rope like that. It was unheard of. Then all of a sudden Snuka started flying all over the place and he became an instant star because of it. People would flood the Garden and gather around the TV in hopes of seeing Snuka take to the air. Without this move, you wouldn't have the Shooting Star Presses and the 630's and the Corkscrew legdrop's and the flying elbow's and diving headbutt's that we see all the time today. You should always respect your elders kiddies and this one is a definite classic.
1) Pedigree (used by Triple H)
The coolest wrestling move ever. I know there are a bunch of different variations of the pedigree that might be a little more sicker(CM Punk's Pepsi Plunge and Chris Daniel's Angel's Wings come to mind), but the original remains the best. What makes it so great is that you never know if Trips is going to hit it or if he's going to get countered and that adds excitement to the move. The move still looks as deadly today as it did the first time it was performed and pops a crowd like few finishers do. Even if the crowd absolutely hates HHH, they respect the Pedigree and will still cheer for it. An awesome move that I still pop for every time I see it.
Now because I love you guys here's a couple links to some of the finishers I just mentioned:
Ok, I'm tired this week people so I'm gonna mention some of my 411 family, but I'm too lazy to link them(HTML is an annoying bitch whore). So just click the back button and go looking for them you lazies.
Check out Grayson's Butterfly Effect, Weyer's Shining The Spotlight, Meehan's MeeThinks, My buddies over at Triple Threat, Sat & Rajah in High/Low Road, Larry's 3R's, Andy's The Shimmy, Ari's Column of Honor, Sullivan's Crystal Ball, O'Dog's Forgotten Goodness, The Hidden Highlights, Fink's Payload, Fact or Fiction, and everything else I might have forgotten.
The Sign-Off
Ok, that's it for this week my peoples. Check me out next week when the topic will be the top ten ECW moments. ECW!! ECW!! ECW!! Sorry, it's a reflex.
